


Roommate Wanted

by Neverever



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-05 11:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4178667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neverever/pseuds/Neverever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint is moving out of their shared apartment. But there might be a reason why Sam and Steve can't find a new roommate and Steve needs to figure out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roommate Wanted

**Author's Note:**

  * For [smaragdbird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smaragdbird/gifts).



> Written for smaragdbird who asked for Sam/Steve as roommates AU and a happy ending. I hope the story matches what you wanted!
> 
> Big thanks to the beta.

“Guess what?” Clint called over to his two roommates.

They were outside on their small rooftop deck on a sunny, early summer evening. Clint was grilling burgers for their dinner on one side of the deck, and Sam was reading through his textbook for his class tomorrow while Steve sketched him.

“What?” Steve mumbled around the pencil in his mouth. He turned to a new page in his sketchbook and squinted at his subject sitting in the plastic patio chair across from him. “Sam, you moved again,” he pointed out.

“I’m just reading,” Sam protested. “I didn’t move that much.” But he shifted back into the seat.

Steve leaned over to sort through the pencil box on the tray table next to him. “Right.” He was trying to make the most of the summer evening light for his sketches. Scratching his head, Steve grimaced and started another sketch of Sam.

“Come on. No one cares about my news?” Clint asked again.

Sam shut his book. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s got you so fired up?”

“I’m moving in with Laura.”

“Really?” Sam asked.

“Congratulations, Clint,” Steve said enthusiastically.

“Laura and I are pretty excited about it.” Clint flipped the burgers onto a plate. “Dinner’s ready.”

Clint had the dopiest smile on his face all night long as he told Sam and Steve about Laura and his plans. “We’re gonna find a place of our own -- we only need a one-bedroom apartment. I’m pretty handy with tools so I can fix it up right. Laura does a lot of work from home.”

Sam and Steve nodded at all the right spots in Clint’s monologue. They asked questions about the type of apartment, where they were looking in the neighborhood, and so on. To be honest, Steve would have been just fine knowing Clint was going to be happy and in a good apartment without all the very specific details.

After dinner, Clint went off to meet up with Laura and Steve washed the dishes. Sam showed up to dry. Steve liked washing dishes with Sam, they had a great rhythm together. Plus, Sam told funny stories about school.

“You know what this means,” Sam said.

Steve thought for a second. “We’re going to need to find a new roommate.”

“Rumlow said to let him know if we had a spot.”

Steve washed another dish and handed it to Sam to dry. Then they both said, “No. Not Rumlow.” Steve turned to exchange a smile with Sam.

“He still has that third-shift security job --” Steve said.

“And is looking for a place for his band to practice,” Sam concluded.

“Natasha will have some ideas.”

Sam snorted. “She knows way too many people.”

~~~~~

During college, Steve had first moved into the apartment with a couple of friends. He stayed, while roommates moved in and out. Until one day Sam arrived, with a duffle bag over his shoulder and two boxes barely held together by duct tape. He turned out to be the best roommate Steve had. And he rooted for the same teams Steve did, so no arguments there.

Clint had lived with them for the past year. Steve had hoped that Clint would stick around. Clint might be goofy at times, but he paid the rent on time, was relatively neat, and was all-in-all a good guy to have around.

Sam was eating his breakfast and flipping through his classnotes. “So what do you think about putting an ad on Craigslist?”

Steve poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Sam. “I’m not sure, Sam. We haven’t asked around yet.”

“We have two months.”

“We’ll do that as a last resort,” Steve suggested. “We’ve always found someone before.”

~~~~~

Natasha did have a list of possible roommates for Steve and Sam. She looked over the rim of her eyeglasses at Steve. “Clint’s moving out?”

“In a couple of months. Sam and I are looking for a new roommate.” Steve swirled his coffee, waiting for Natasha’s response. Natasha had met him for coffee after work.

She pursed her lips and pulled out her phone. She scanned through her contacts lists muttering as she went. “Wait -- what about Pepper Potts? She was looking for a new place last year.”

“Moved in with Tony three months ago. Still happy,” Steve reported. “Sam and I went to games night over there a couple of weeks ago.”

“I need to talk to Pepper more often,” Natasha admitted. “Jess Drew? I heard that her landlord wants her and her roommates to move out.”

“Oh?”

“He’s renovating the place and they are inconvenient. Jess is angry about it.” Natasha put down her phone. “I’m sure we can find you boys someone. Everyone loves Sam.”

Steve laughed at that. “He’s a great guy.”

Natasha folded her hands together and peered at Steve. “You know, I bet you could swing the rent without having a third roommate.”

“I don’t know,” Steve replied doubtfully. “The graphics job is paying well and I’ve been getting some freelance work. Sam’s got another year in grad school. He’s been bartending a couple of nights. Maybe if I sell some pieces at three shows I have coming up … I just don’t know, Natasha.”

“Think about it, Steve.” She glanced down at her phone. “Bobbi Morse?”

Steve shook his head firmly. “Clint has a ton of stories from when they roomed together. She’s very competitive and loud when she playing online. The constant shouting and swearing got to Clint …”

On his way back to work Steve thought, it would be nice if they had the apartment to themselves. He could talk Sam into letting him turn Clint’s room into much-needed studio space. Sam could use some office space, too. But all things considered, that felt like a pipe dream.

~~~~~

Sam was hands-down Steve’s favorite model. He was patient, and didn’t protest if Steve asked him to sit for an hour or two. Right now, Steve had an entire sketchbook filled with pencil sketches of Sam reading. Steve chewed on the end of his pencil as he repeatedly drew Sam’s strong hands holding his book. He loved to sketch the way the afternoon sunlight moved over Sam’s beautiful skin. But he wished he could capture Sam’s eyes and how his face lit up when he smiled his thousand-watt smile. Everything he tried didn’t do full justice to Sam. Steve thought he could draw Sam forever.

Tonight Sam was perfectly posed, sprawled out on the couch amid papers and books, his hand propping up his head to read. Steve was furiously sketching away in his new sketchbook.

“Want to watch the Mets later?” Sam suggested.

“Hmmm,” Steve replied.

“We could go out to that bar you like --”

“I’m fine staying in. Want to order pizza?”

Sam smiled that brilliant smile of his. “Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.”

Later, Steve was firmly ensconced in his spot on the couch listening to Sam yell back at the television. He shook his head at the umpire’s ruling on the field. “It’s like they’re not even paying attention to the game at all,” he complained. He brushed past to Steve to retrieve another piece of pizza.

It was the perfect evening listening to Sam complain about the game, the street lights coming in through the living room windows open to let in the summer evening breeze. Steve didn’t want to be anywhere else. And he was glad Clint was not coming home. He selfishly didn’t want to share this evening with anyone but Sam.

As Steve cleaned up the kitchen before he headed to bed, Sam, wearing his boxer briefs, leaned against the doorway. He yawned. "It was great having the place to ourselves tonight.”

Steve focused on wiping down the counters so he wouldn’t stare at Sam. Sam had been working out more recently, and his hard work shone in his strong biceps and the lean, firm lines of his abs. He couldn’t deny that Sam was a very handsome guy. “Yeah, it was."

“I could manage to pay the rent for a couple of months if we couldn’t find someone to move in right after Clint left.”

“Natasha asked me about that.”

“Says the woman who can afford her own place,” Sam said with a chuckle. “Catch you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Sam.”

As he finished up the plates from dinner, Steve thought maybe he could look into picking up a few more freelance jobs. Or ask for a raise at work. On the other hand, Natasha had sent a list of people she knew who were looking around for a good apartment. He wasn’t sure if he wanted another roommate, but his bank account could sure use one.

~~~~~

Steve was working on a small landscape painting when Sam came in late from his bartending job. “Surprised to see you still up,” Sam said cheerfully as he threw his keys into the bowl next to the door.

“Was on a roll,” Steve said. He didn’t have many opportunities to set up the easel and the workspace he wanted, so he had to grab every chance he got.

Sam dropped into the armchair and threw his feet up on the coffee table. “You’ll never guess who came into the bar tonight.”

“Who?” Steve was not a big fan of guessing games.

“Sharon. She was looking good.”

Steve had dated Sharon just after college. It hadn’t worked out, and although Steve dated his share of women and men, he hadn’t had a special someone since Sharon. “That’s -- that’s great.”

“She heard through the grapevine we were looking to replace Clint --”

“Isn’t that rule number one -- no exes, ever?”

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Sam yawned and stretched. “I should pack it in. Are you good for a run in the morning?”

“Anytime -- let me know when you’re up.” Sam exchanged a fist bump with Steve on his way to his room.

Steve packed up his art supplies. His thoughts ran to Sharon and then to Sam. He and Sam didn’t talk about their dating history. But he didn’t remember Sam ever dating anyone seriously since he moved into the apartment. All he knew was that Sam had dated mostly women. While cleaning off his brushes in the sink, he wondered briefly what it would be like to date Sam. It wasn’t the first time he thought about Sam. He had liked Sam at first sight all those years ago when Sam moved in. But Sam had been seriously dating a woman at the time, and Steve didn’t even know if Sam was interested in guys. There had been one guy that Sam seemed to have a special friendship with for a couple of months, but it wasn’t anything that Steve could pin his hopes on.

Either way, Sam was the best friend Steve had always wanted and now had.

~~~~~

Natasha cornered Sam at a brunch get-together of their mutual friends and grilled him about the roommate situation. “Any leads?”

“Nothing really. Jen Walters asked us about maybe subletting for a few months while she looks for something in Midtown,” Sam said.

"Then some kid named Peter Parker asked Clint about the apartment --” Steve said.

“He’s going to Empire State in the fall, so ‘no’ there,” Sam finished.

“How about Bruce?” Natasha asked, waving her fork in the direction of the serious man in deep conversation with Tony at the end of the table. “He’s got a job.”

“He’s a post-doc at Empire -- he wants somewhere cheaper,” Sam said.

“Plus he’s going to be coming and going at all hours. Not sure if we’re looking for that type of roommate.”

“I told you about Jasper Sitwell --”

Both Steve and Sam chimed in with a decided no. “We talked to him and no, just no,” Sam said.

Natasha sighed and looked like she was ready to bang her head against the table. “Are you sure you’re actually looking for someone? Because you and Sam are turning down people because they might possibly breathe too loud. Or make coffee in the morning. Or you know, want to live in the apartment they’re renting.”

Steve looked over at Sam who shrugged. “We’re looking for the right person. Clint’s been a great roommate.”

“Except for the dartboard,” Sam added.

“We fixed that. We want someone like Clint.”

Natasha sighed. “I’m close to scraping the barrel of the people I know, fellas.”

“There’s always Brock Rumlow,” Sam said looking at Steve.

“Or Maria Hill,” Steve added.

Natasha looked at both of them. She said, “Whatever. I’ll be taking bets on whether someone moves in with you or not.”

~~~~~

Sam made dinner for Steve when Steve was running late from work a couple of weeks earlier. He had even set the table upstairs on the roof deck. It was the perfect summer evening, with a soft breeze cooling the air and the city lights sparkling around them. Sam was making Steve laugh about what he heard customers at the bar say about the Mets.

Sam drank his beer. “By the way, Clint and Laura are hosting a big party at their new apartment in a couple of weeks.”

“Great.” Sam and Steve had been helping Clint pack up his belongings all week.

“He says there’s going to be a DJ there.”

Steve looked up from his dinner. “A DJ? At Clint’s party?”

“Calls himself The Vision. Apparently,” Sam replied. “Clint’s excited.”

“But in that apartment? It’s a third floor walkup.”

“They’re using the roof deck.”

Steve nodded. “Of course. Sounds like fun.”

“We could throw a party here -- at the end of the summer.”

“We should,” Steve said. “Thanks for dinner, Sam. It was really good.”

Sam smiled broadly at Steve. “Thanks.”

Steve noticed how Sam’s smoky brown eyes sparkled in the light of the lanterns strung around the deck. A warm feeling flooded over him and he wanted to reach out to touch Sam, maybe slide his hand up Sam’s arm. He never quite felt this way about Sam before. All he had to do was ask to see if Sam felt the same way. Sam had a brilliant, dazzling smile, and Steve was tongue-tied. The moment seemed to last forever as Steve drowned in the light of Sam’s eyes and smile, while Sam, unaware of Steve’s feelings, kept being Sam.

Sam broke the spell. “Maria called.”

“Oh?”

“She’s not interested. She thought about it, but it’s not a good fit for her.”

“Oh.”

Steve spent the rest of the evening in a vague state of irritation. He had a nagging feeling that he missed something or something fundamental had changed, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. If angry dishwashing had been an Olympic sport, Steve would have won the gold medal.

~~~~~

Clint knew how to throw an excellent party. His joy was infectious as he swanned through the crowd saying as many times as he could, “Have you met my girlfriend, Laura? We’ve moved in together.” Or he spent time showing off his top of the line grill. “Look at this grill my girlfriend and I bought together. Because we’ve moved in together.”

Steve leaned in and whispered. “Imagine what it’s going to be like if they get married.”

Sam laughed hard. “Here’s the ring I bought with Laura because we’re getting married,” he whispered back to Steve.

He was dressed in a white linen shirt and dark wash jeans. Steve couldn’t help but stare at the stunning picture Sam made. Ever since they had dinner together that night on the roof, Steve felt complicated and weird around Sam. Sam was his best friend. He shouldn’t feel that way or even be thinking of Sam as something other than a friend.

Steve’s beer was sadly empty. “I’m going to grab another beer. Want one?”

“I’m fine,” Sam said.

The cooler on the deck didn’t have any more beer. Laura mentioned that there was more in the refrigerator in the kitchen. Steve went downstairs to fetch the beer. Before he entered the kitchen, he saw Wanda and Natasha standing near the sink. They were talking in low voices, like they didn’t want to be heard. Steve didn’t plan to eavesdrop until he heard Wanda say something about Sam’s and Steve’s apartment. He hung around the door, waiting to hear more.

“It’s a really nice apartment and since Pietro’s gone back home, I’m looking for a new place,” Wanda said. “I love the kitchen.”

“It’s a great apartment,” Natasha agreed. “But you’d have to live with Sam and Steve.”

“Clint told me he liked it here --”

“Don’t get me wrong, Sam and Steve are the greatest. It’s that they seem to be more into each other, you know?”

Wanda looked confused for a minute. Then she nodded slowly. “Oh … oh, I get it.”

“I know.” Natasha waved her hand around. “No one wants to move in. Feels like we’re intruding.”

“But they’re still asking around for a roommate and the apartment is --”

“Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.”

Wanda chuckled as she pushed back her thick hair . “I’ll think about it some more. I can put up with anything, so it might not be bad.”

Steve had heard enough. “Coming through,” he announced, heading straight for the refrigerator because he knew if he even so much as glanced at Natasha she’d know immediately that he overheard everything.

~~~~~

Monday, Steve took his time returning from work, still haunted by the conversation he heard Saturday night. Natasha had said out loud what he’d been thinking for a while now. He couldn’t avoid what he felt much longer, and he owed it to Sam to be as honest as he always was. He knew Sam would be studying in the living room. He just wasn’t sure what he was going to say to Sam.

He threw his keys into the bowl which announced his arrival better than when he walked through the door.

“Hey, Steve!” Sam called out. “I picked up Thai food for dinner.”

“Thanks,” Steve said. He wanted to change out of his work clothes before eating. “I’m going to change.”

“Wanda called about the apartment,” Sam shouted from the couch.

In his bedroom, a wave of disappointment crashed over Steve as he changed into a t-shirt and shorts. He couldn’t come up with a good reason to say no to Wanda. She was a hard worker trying to get her health food business launched. She paid her bills on time and Steve had heard only good things about her.

It was now crystal clear to him that he didn’t want another roommate. He and Sam were doing just fine on their own. More than fine. He had the best time of his life living with Sam for the past month without anyone else.

Coming out of his bedroom, he suggested, “Maybe we could do something different?”

Sam closed his book and sat up. “What’s wrong with Wanda?”

“Nothing.” Standing in the living room and feeling like he was about to walk off a cliff, Steve took a deep breath. “I kind of liked it with just us.”

Sam’s face was suddenly unreadable. “Just us,” he repeated.

“You know, you and me in the apartment.” He ducked his head back and forth. “I’ve been looking at the numbers and we could do it. I could use Clint’s room as studio space and I figure we could make room for an office for you.”

“And you don’t want a roommate for any other reason?” Sam probed.

Steve gulped. He flexed his hands and felt like the breath was being pressed slowly out of him. “No, yes, no, I don’t know,” he squeaked out. He needed to sit down. Now.

“Okay, Steve. Take a deep breath,” Sam said. “Come over here.”

Robotically Steve walked over to the couch and sat down next to Sam. He started to turn red and couldn’t look at Sam in case he betrayed what he was feeling.

“You don’t want another roommate?”

“No,” Steve said firmly.

“Good. Because I don’t want one either,” Sam said.

“You don’t?” Steve asked. He turned to look at Sam, who was smiling.

“No. But I don’t know if we don’t want another roommate for the same reasons.” He reached out to touch Steve’s arm. “I’ve been thinking --”

“Of dating me?” Steve blurted out. He froze.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Ohhh. I’ve -- I’ve been thinking -- I didn’t know if you’d be interested -- because, you know, you are you and you know everything about me,” Steve babbled.

Shifting closer to Steve, Sam put a finger on his lips. “Hey, give a brother a minute here.”

Steve nodded and watched as Sam took his hand in his. Sam hadn’t stopped smiling since Steve sat down.

“If I haven’t been reading things wrong -- and I don’t think I have and Natasha agrees with me -- you’re interested in me as more than a friend.”

Something tight in Steve suddenly sprang free. He had to be honest with Sam, despite what it might cost. Although this didn’t sound like Sam about to let him down easy. “Yes,” he admitted. “I started feeling that way since Clint decided to move out. I don’t want --”

“Yeah. Strangely -- that happened to me too.”

“Sam, are you saying that you would like to date me?” Steve asked. His heart pounded with hope.

Sam squeezed Steve’s hand. “Yes. Although our friends say we’ve been dating for years, we just didn’t know it.”

“You want to give this a try?”

“Yeah -- that was the plan when I made you dinner a few weeks ago. To have this talk.”

“Oh.” Steve thought back to that night. “Oh … that’s what was going on.”

“You can be kind of dense about people sometimes, Steve.”

“Um, well, you want to go out for dinner and talk about this more?”

“Yes. But not pizza and not a sports bar. You’re taking me somewhere nice. Because it’s a date.”

“Right.”

They both stood up and before Steve could go change into better, less paint-covered clothes, Sam leaned in close. Steve closed his eyes as Sam kissed him. Steve’s hand slid around Sam’s waist as he kissed back, reveling in how perfect and real and right kissing Sam felt.

Until Sam’s phone buzzed. Repeatedly.

Steve said, “You want to get that?” He wasn’t quite ready to let Sam go, but the phone was annoying.

Sam pulled his phone of his pocket. “It’s Brock. He’s been blowing up my phone with texts about moving into the apartment.”

“Text him back. Apartment’s off the market.”

Sam chuckled warmly. “Yes. It is.”


End file.
